Pakistan People's Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said he foresees an important role for the army chief and the military in the country's future set-up.Slain former Premier Benazir Bhutto's widower said during an interaction with the Jang group of newspapers that the National Security Council, which is headed by the President, and local governments were here to stay.He said the PPP did not favour confrontation with these institutions and that Parliament should be strengthened to decide all issues."The National Security Council and local governments are also institutions, so the PPP would not be in a hurry to send them packing. Rather, the formation and working of these institutions could be improved through discussions in parliament," he told the panel on Friday.Asked how the ‘troika’ of President Pervez Musharraf, PPP's Prime Minister and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif would function, Zardari said it would work due to ‘their political handling’."We want to keep Nawaz Sharif on our side and he will sit with us," he said.Zardari was also hopeful about his party's long-term partnership with the PML-N and said he desired to take that party along on all major issues which would confront the new government.He said there were many issues on which the PML-N and PPP had 30 to 40 per cent agreement, but on some issues such as the freedom of the media there was 100 per cent understanding."I will make all-out efforts to persuade them to come on board as I have already termed Mian Nawaz Sharif, Asfandyar Wali and Maulana Fazlur Rehman my elder brothers," he said.
